Adoption and Adaptation
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: One fateful morning, Jill finds out that Rock is adopted, and he himself doesn't seem to know this. How will Rock feel when he hears the truth? And how will Jill feel once everything comes full circle? At times, one's life isn't as depressing as it seems


**Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life**

**Adoption and Adaptation**

It was a warm spring morning in Forget-Me-Not Valley without a cloud in the sky.

Jill Atkins, the newcomer and caretaker of Clunny Farm, decided to stop by her favorite hangout, the Inner Inn, to share a few pleasantries with the owner. The young farmer had brunette hair fixed in a short ponytail and big, bright violet eyes. She wore a slimming red t-shirt along with some light blue work jeans and a tan pair of work shoes.

At the Inn's counter, she struck up a conversation with a woman with short black hair and beady eyes. Her outfit consisted of a tropical yellow shirt with red and blue flower pattern, and a stripped dress resembling a grass skirt.

"It's always a pleasure hanging around here, Ms. Ruby. You always have the greatest stories!" Jill cried.

"Glad to know my life experiences never fail to disappoint." The woman behind the counter grinned. "So, what would you like to hear about today?"

"Actually I---"

"Heh, sweet! The new farmer's come again!" a voice cried from the stairway.

Both ladies looked up to see a young man in bright threads and a big smirk. He had a full head of short blonde hair that parted from the middle, and wore a yellow-striped light blue shirt with a white vest and matching pants.

"Actually, Rock.., I'm here to talk with your Mom. You know, like I always do?" Jill replied.

"Oh come on! Give the Rock a chance for once! Aren't you the least bit curious what I've got cooking for once?" he cried.

"I think I'd rather not know what "the Rock" is cooking if he has to rely on his Mom for meals." Jill refuted flatly.

"Yeesh, what a meanie." Rock groaned. "Well, if you're not going to make it any easier on me, I'm gonna split. There are some way nicer chicks out there that I'm sure are willing to give the Rock a sporting chance. Later Mom, Jill…"

And with that, he took off.

After that scene, the new farmer looked back at Ruby's hair curiously. She distinctly remembered her husband, Tim, who also had black hair, but also shared few similar traits with the son. For a while, she didn't let this bother her, but recently the unusual causality among the family was just something hard to ignore. It was never spelled outright to her if their son was related by blood despite the distinguishable traits between parents and child, but the whole relationship felt a little "too" natural.

"Uh, Ruby…" Jill began.

"Yes, was is it child?"

"Um…. I'm sorry if this sounds so sudden, but I'm been beginning to wonder this ever since it caught my attention: Your son, Rock… is he adopted, by any chance?"

Ruby remained silent for a while. Her mouth wriggled for a while, but otherwise she looked back with a very solemn expression.

"So… you've noticed?" Ruby asked seriously.

Jill nodded slowly.

"I see…" Ruby uttered.

The experienced woman turned her head to the side and gave a big sigh as she held her chin.

"I suppose it should be apparent, but Tim and I had this idea that we could keep this veil going for awhile. The villagers here are quick to believe any excuse we threw their way, and I know it's an insulting thing to say about our son, but he isn't exactly the brightest boy around, so he bought in just as easily. Maybe in this case it worked out in his favor…" Ruby explained.

"Well, there are some other logical explanations out there for him being your birth son while looking the way he is… there were this biology lesson I had in city school that explained this thing called "recessive traits", and maybe the two of you had these hidden genes for blonde hair. Aside from that, the guy has a similar skin hue to you. Still, I'm glad to finally know the truth." Jill answered.

"Actually, his skin was much lighter when we picked him up. We simply brought him to Hawaii one day for a tan to further our ruse…" Ruby stated.

"Wow, that's pretty cleaver." Jill replied anyway. "Er… anyway, when and where did you meet little Rock, anyway?"

Suddenly, the thoughtful mother started into space nostalgically as she recalled her tale.

"It was about 18 years ago in a place called Southtown way before running into Forget-me-Not Valley and starting the Inner Inn. We ran into a lone little blonde boy in the streets one day. We were really concerned about his wellbeing, and my husband asked him about his parents. The boy replied that he didn't know what they looked like, so… Tim and I made a decision and told him that we would be his parents. After that, we asked where he's been living all the while and we ended up meeting this rugged fellow with a ponytail. He told us that he knew the father once… the mother died giving birth, and the old man couldn't be around to take care of him up to the point of his untimely death. He was supposedly thrown from a skyscraper, laughing madly… sounded really gruesome." Ruby lamented.

Jill soon found herself tearing from the tragic tale.

"His birth folks were taken from him… so early?" she sniffled. "That's…horrible!"

Ruby nodded. "And that's exactly why we find it hard to tell him all of this. I think by this point he might not take it so well from us."

The inn wife patted Jill's back gently as she wept.

"But you were a sharp enough girl to figure it out. Maybe you could tell her the one thing we couldn't. If he doesn't believe, we'll help break it to him as gently as possible. I doubt he deserves to live the lie we've put him through all these years." She added.

"What? But Ruby… surely, you can't expect me to go along with this! I… Rock… he…"

"Our boy seems to have a special eye for you. He might take the news better if a pretty young gal like yourself tells him. We know how hard you've been on him, but you're a compassionate girl at heart. I'm sure he'd be relieved to see that side of you, too." Ruby suggested.

"Gee, Ruby… I… I just don't know…" Jill answered hesitantly.

Immediately, the boy of the hour himself walked right through the front door.

"Hey, Mom! I just realized I forgot to have some breakfast, so if you have anything to spare, I'd---"

Rock turned his face ever so slightly to see a bawling Jill staring back at him with sympathy.

"Uh… Jill? Something the matter?" he asked uneasily.

Jill then threw herself full force into Rock's grasp, babbling incoherently about everything she heard about his past, putting the lost boy into a deeper state of confusion. Eventually, the blonde boy raised a brow and stared straight into his mother's eyes.

"Mom… did you tell Jill that story about me being adopted?" he asked in an agitated voice.

"Huh?"

Jill abruptly snapped out of her hysteria. She gave Rock a confused looked, then turned to see Ruby.

Her serious face looked like it was about to give way until it broke completely into a fit of laugher.

"I don't understand… what's so funny? Even if Rock knew all this time…" she muttered to herself.

Rock groaned.

"Mom's a little weird sometimes. There's been so many people we came across on our travels that's came up to us asking if I was adopted since I decided to fix my hair, so one day she came up with this elaborate story about my "past", and decided to have a lot of fun with this on people wondering the same thing in the future. I'm surprised no one in the valley warned you about the story for so long; she got nearly everyone with it and I'd meet so many people coming up to me and going all delirious in tears like you were just now." He explained.

Jill slowly turned her head with her expression gradually switching towards rage.

"You know, you wouldn't be dealing with this right now if you had never dyed your hair in the first place, honey. Maybe dye it back and we can discuss this." Ruby teased.

The female farmer's body shook violently as the truth hit her. Her burning eyes looked every which way until they decided to focus upon the door.

"Good day… I'm off to date a hippie." She grumbled before stomping out of the inn.

"Gustafa, eh? I guess that explains a lot… including her unavailability." Rock noted to himself. "Oh well. There are still plenty of ladies to go around. It's time I make my move on Muffy. I think she's actually starting to come around after all that effort."

The swinging bachelor hummed to himself cheerfully as he proceeded to leave once more while again forgetting his morning breakfast.

This left a formerly amused Ruby dumbfounded at the entire scene that took place before here.

"Funny, I was sure Jill secretly had a thing for son…" she muttered to herself curiously.

After a few more minutes of pondering, the calculating innkeeper finally shrugged it off.

"Well, That's life, after all…" she mused.

With that said, Ruby headed straight into the kitchen to prepare a brunch for Rock and her customers.

_Author's Note: I apologizes for this mind screw, especially if it's a cruel abuse of the premise, but seriously… I think it's valid and possible for Rock to be biologically related to Ruby and Tim. Notice the similar skin tone, anyone? It's possible he bleached his hair, and if he didn't… well, I was serious about that trait lesson earlier. A similar case happened with an Elementary Teacher aside._

_Blathering aside, I hope you've enjoyed this piece that popped up in my head. Hopefully, I'll finished "Cinder Gina" this Holiday Season, but maybe I won't. But whatever the case, expect another short story in the future. It's about Mary… and her weird friendship with good old Farmer Mitchel. Why didn't I make those two a couple again? Right… based on personal experience with the game._


End file.
